Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2005 00:31:41 +1100 (EST)
From: Masked Truth
Subject: The Unveiling, Chapter 8, "Gay, Scifi/Fantasy"
Eight' installment. Wow. I mean I did plan for it to go this far, further even,
but to actually physically see it... can't think of a word to describe how I
feel. Uh oh. Better brush up my vocabulary. -]
I'm very new to both writing fiction and story developing. So, it'll be nice to
hear what you guys think. I'm trying to be excellent in both areas, but I've got
a feeling that I had failed miserably in both. All I need now is an expert to
evaluate this and give me some pointers. I know I'm asking for a free service,
but, anyone?
Otherwise, you could still send me an email to comment on anything at all. If
you've sent one before, don't be afraid to send another. I know I haven't
replied some emails you had sent, and I'm truly sorry about that - this whole
thing is new to me. From now on I'll reply every email - even one-liners. -]
Email: mask4truth@yahoo.com.au
:mt:
* * *
The Unveiling Chapter 8
* * *
Damned Feristel. I bet my life that it was he who had sent Jase to
Point Zero. What was he trying to achieve, sending people I - we - cared
over there? I could barely hear anything except for the sound of my own
anger. My parents, dear friends, everyone, were already taken by
Feristel. Now even Jase was taken. The twelve was down to eleven. Damn
him.
"Where are you going?" Jean asked when I opened the apartment door.
Stupid question. "Point Zero."
She grabbed my arm to stop me. "Now? Let us rest first; then we'll
come up with some brilliant plan."
I shook her hand off, harsher than I had intended. "Forget it. I'm
sick of planning. I'm going to Point Zero 'now' - I'm joining everyone
else."
Her face paled. "You're giving up," she stated as if coming into
realization.
I snorted. "Not for my life," I assured her. "I just need to see
everyone again."
"But," Kevin said suddenly, from the other side of the room. "How
would you know you'll see them when you get to Point Zero?"
"Don't you dare suggest that stupid 'incinerator' idea again!" I
snapped at him. For some reason, I did not regret it this time. All I felt
was... anger. It was unsatisfiable, like a bottomless well thirsting for
the sea.
"I never-" Kevin sighed. "Look, I only meant that our family and
friends might not be there. I don't think they've even been there."
"Wait," Jean said. "You don't mean, that Point Zero was nothing but
a trap?"
That caught my attention. "But Dean hacked into their database."
Jean rubbed her head and looked at Kevin. "That made some sense
actually. Maybe that was how we were caught. Really, why would they search
abandoned warehouses?"
A trap? That can't be true... can it?
"Their so-called website was a set up to get us there," Kevin added
in.
"Impossible," Dean cut in. He was standing by the kitchen door with
a scowl on his face. "I would know right away if the information was
fake. You have no idea what kind of security I had to hack through."
"Dean has a point," I said after some thought. "When I was captive,
they were really sending me there, weren't they? To Point Zero?" I waited
for them to nod their heads. "People were really sent there, so it can't be
'just a trap'."
"So maybe," Jean said as she led me back into the apartment. "Point
Zero is just a security thing, where people will be sent somewhere else
after Point Zero."
Kevin's face lit up in revelation. "So it was not a trap, but it
was to cover up where the people were really going."
I felt myself tensing after hearing that. That theory seemed to
support what Feristel said about the other world, 'Thrae'.
"Where do you think these guys are from, though?" Jean asked no one
in particular. "When I was with them, most of them were speaking this weird
accent which I can't recognize."
"Yeah, that soldier as well," Kevin muttered. I knew he was
referring to our captive soldier that Jon, he and I interrogated for Jean's
whereabouts.
"I mean, it's not like I know every accent in the world, but I do
know 'a lot'," Jean continued. "What's stranger, some of them were
definitely Aussies."
"There were other prisoners?" Dean asked, confused.
"No, no, I mean some of the soldiers were Aussies."
"Oh."
None of us spoke for a while. "Anyone you recognize?" Kevin asked
suddenly.
Jean stared blankly at Kevin. "One," she muttered and looked away.
'One'? There was actually someone that Jean 'knew' who was with
'them', our enemy? And he was an Aussie? My head spun with the
possibilities. These soldiers... some of them were our own? Were we being
betrayed? I turned to look at Kevin. He was pale, looking as if
scandalized. Others were wide-eyed too.
Feristel did say that he had members in every country, but it never
crossed my mind that even our own would participate in his
madness. Suddenly I felt a renewed urge to investigate Point Zero.
"Tony?" Jean asked worriedly. I noticed that some others were
looking at me worried as well.
"What?"
"You okay? You look... odd just now. At first you look sick and
confused, then suddenly you were angry, and then... determined."
I grinned at everyone. "Never mind that. Anyone in for a second
trip to Point Zero?"
"You mean there was another plan?" Dean asked, grinning, which
meant 'yes'.
Kevin laughed. "You don't actually think Jase can take care of
himself, do you?" Another 'yes'.
"I'm beginning to enjoy playing 'hero'," Simon stated his 'yes'.
"Of course not. I better go along to make sure Simon doesn't do
anything stupid," Lil' Lily piped in, and we laughed.
"My girl might still be there - I'm going," Gary said, determined.
"They scared me at first, but not anymore," a 'yes' from Jon.
Jean stood up and smiled. "Seriously, you guys will get caught in
ten minutes without me." She gave her 'yes'.
Irene sighed. "The best of us are all going - no way I'm getting
left behind."
"Since the girls are going, I'm going," stated Jay with a sly grin.
"Pervert. The girls will need my protection. From you," sighed
Terry.
We laughed. I guess we will all be in this again. We will never
learn, will we. "Thanks guys." I looked at Jean. "Okay, shall we make some
'brilliant' plans?" I grinned, emphasizing on 'brilliant', as Jean had put
it earlier.
"We'll be fine," Jean grinned back. "We are the 'ghosts', after
all."
'Ghosts'?
"'Ghosts'? That sounds... familiar," Terry said as he strained his
forehead to remember.
"You know - spirits of dead people, that see-through human we see
on TV," Jay quipped, which earned him a knock in the head from an annoyed
Terry.
"Feristel."
Everybody looked at me. It was then I realized that I muttered
'his' name without realizing it.
"Back then, right before I was captured," I explained. "A man had
called us the 'ghosts'." Terry's face immediately lit up as if to say
'that's it!'. I never heard Feristel mention 'ghosts' after that though.
Jean grinned. "Yep. That's what they called us. The invisible
rebels. The uncatchable. The 'Ghosts'."
"Shit that's cool," Jay said, as if awed. We laughed at that. I
think it was because he was right.
"Jase once called us the 'formidable twelve'," I added. "Maybe we
can call ourselves 'The Formidable Ghosts'."
"That's kinda lame," Irene said with surprising honesty. "Try
something more artistic, like, 'Ghosts, the Formidable Twelve'."
"Or, 'Ghost Rebels, the Formidable Twelve," Jean suggested
excitedly.
I chuckled. It was funny how we were thinking of a name for
ourselves in times like this.
"G. R. the F. T.?" Kevin joined in. "I say we go for 'Formidable
Ghost Rebels, the Twelve." He grinned at us. "F. G. R. the Twelve."
FGR the Twelve. "I like that," I said. The others grinned in
agreement. Kevin stuck his left hand out in the middle of us, then Jean
and Jon joined in by putting their left hands on top of his. Soon we were
all in a circle with our left hands were on top of each other. Then I put
my right hand on top of the heap, so that there were twelve hands. "This
hand is for Jase," I stated.
We grinned and nodded at each other. Then, together, as if we were
a team in a sports game, we pushed our hands down and cheered.
"FGR the Twelve, we are!" I said as loud as I could.
* * *
We, the FGRs made our way to Point Zero the next night. This time
we avoided the warehouses and stayed in the apartments instead, even though
it was much further; about forty minutes walk from Point Zero. The
warehouses was barely five minutes walk. But we were only being cautious
this time, since we knew that they do search the warehouses.
At some point, we argued over who should go to watch soldier's
routines at Point Zero, which we finally settled on sending Simon(again)
and Jean out of practicality. None of us were as stealthy as Simon, and if
anyone can conjure a mastermind plan to infiltrate Point Zero, it was Jean.
Again - while waiting for Simon and Jean to return - Kevin was
instructing Terry and Jay the arts of war; I was beginning to wonder if
there really was 'that' much to war. Dean, Gary and Irene were both onto
creating some sort of gadget with tools they had found in the hardware
shop. Lil' Lily 'looked' nervous while fidgeting with the radio, waiting
for Simon to communicate with them(although we know that inside she was
actually as calm as the lake). Jon and I were sitting uselessly in the
kitchen, waiting impatiently for everyone to finish. Some routines never
change.
This time however, Jon and I only made small talk, though from the
occasional glances I caught him giving, I knew he wanted to talk about
something else. Jean, probably. I didn't bring it up, however. I wasn't
ready for that kind conversation. I needed to get advice from someone about
this - which unfortunately, I usually asked Jean, who was the topic of the
issue, or Jase, whose whereabouts were currently a mystery.
I was saved from the overwhelming pressure Jon was giving me when
Simon and Jean finally returned. All of us stopped whatever we were doing
and went straight them. They were grinning when they saw us.
"I have an idea," she started. "But we're gonna need a few more
nights if we were to do it." Then she turned to Kevin. "You're coming with
us tomorrow - you're going to teach us how their army march."
"You mean dress up as them?" I looked at Simon questioningly. "I
thought we talked about this before."
Simon grinned. These days he has been doing that a lot. "You and I
were talking about walking behind an army. Jean however, is talking about
walking 'as' an army."
I was amazed at that bold plan. "You mean all of us disguise as an
army? You think we can fool them?"
"That's where Kevin steps in. He will learn their salutes and how
they march, and then he can teach us how to do it."
"Still, don't you think their armies has a... you know, 'team
number' or something?"
Jean grinned even wider than before. "That's why we plan to take
out an army which we already know the 'team name', and disguise as them. I
know the perfect candidate for that."
* * *
Even after triple-checking the trap we had set up, I still felt
unsure about the plan. This had to be the most reckless plan Jean had ever
came up with. I mean, so many things could go wrong. Like, what if 'none'
of the soldiers were knocked out by fire hydrant? Or what if the hydrant
weren't as powerful as we thought it would be? Or what if they reacted
quicker than we expected and stopped us the moment they hear the
pump-engine running?
Anytime now.
I readied my rifle and waited for the army to walk into our trap. I
actually preferred a pistol, but Jean had said that the rifle was more
'menacing', which was needed for the plan's sake. Simon and Lil' Lily, the
two smallest people in our group were made to watch the entrance and exit
of the area where the trap will take place. If anyone other than the army
we were expecting were to come near, they will aid us by distracting the
visitors away.
Terry was given the responsibility of handling the fire
hydrant/hose(from the fire truck). Since none of us had the experience of
using a fire hydrant, we let the biggest and heaviest man do it, reasoning
that the feedback from the water-cannon may be significant. Jean said that
the water pressure from a fire truck will be enough to knock out anyone in
a direct hit. I was beginning to believe that Jean could actually use
'anything' as a weapon in any situation. Seriously, who but Jean would have
thought a fire station(or the fire trucks in it) could come in handy? Yet,
I still feel this plan offers too little flexibility. If anything went
unplanned...
They should be here about now.
The army whom we were expecting was called 'Red Fox', their leader
known as 'Eagle Daniel'. It was odd to hear someone in their army having an
ordinary name. I was just getting used to Dirrek, Pagahar, Feristel, and
the sorts. This Eagle Daniel must be from Earth.
'From Earth'? Dammit. Am I actually believing in Thrae now?
It was Kevin's hand on my shoulder that made me realize that 'Red
Fox' has already arrived. I took a quick glance around and saw that
everyone but me was ready. I couldn't believe I was thinking of other
things in the middle of an important mission. Giving Kevin a curt nod, I
assumed my position for the trap.
Barely a few seconds after that, I could see Jean - who was outside
the fire truck - giving a nod to Terry - who was beside the hose in the
truck. Just as he had practiced only an hour ago, he turned on the
pump-engine of the fire hydrant. It gave the expected rumble that would
doubtlessly alert our enemies. However, Jean had speculated that they'll
be surprised for the first few seconds, which will be more than enough for
the hydrant to be ready. And she was right.
They sounded confused(since I couldn't see them from inside the
fire station), and when Terry finally stepped out of the truck and released
the water-jet from the hose, we stepped out of our hiding places, yielding
our weapons in the most threatening manner possible. Kevin the fierce, Jean
the witty, Jay the laidback, and me surrounded our enemies on their level,
trying act coordinated and violent at the same time. High up behind the
windows on buildings around the area was Jon the sharpshooter, Dean the
genius, Gary the technician and Irene the cautious, all playing the role as
backups via sniping. According to Jean this arrangement will make us look
large, well-planned, and effectively menacing - which was again, intended
for our objectives.
We could hear some of the soldiers screaming from the
water-jets. When Terry finally run out of water, we closed in on them with
our rifles to subdue the still conscious. Fortunately for us, almost half
their forces were rendered unconscious, and most of their weapons were
washed away anyway.
"One move and you're dead," Kevin threatened with his coldest
voice. After seeing that the soldiers weren't fighting back(probably still
dazed from the water-jets), Kevin spoke again, though he barely suppressed
his delight this time. "Out of your clothes, all of you."
It was strangely like revenge, using their own tactics against
them.
* * *
After acquiring all their uniforms, we left the soldiers naked and
tied up in the fire station. Irene took one look at the uniforms and
worriedly muttered her concern of whether or not the uniforms were
machine-washable. When got back to our apartments, Irene and Lil' Lily lay
out the uniforms on the balcony, hoping that they would dry up by the next
day.
"I guess tomorrow will be the big thing," said Jon as we watched
Lil' Lily and Irene trying to squeeze out water from the uniforms.
I nodded. "And there'll be no turning back either."
"I wouldn't think of it," stated Jon blankly. "You sure leaving the
Red Fox tied up like that would be enough? If they managed to escape, our
plan will fail."
"It's just one day, Jon. Besides, those were Kevin's knots - it's
impossible for them to escape."
""They could be rescued, you know."
I couldn't think of anything to say at first. "Sorry, Jon," I said
finally. "I couldn't do it. I couldn't shoot them."
Jean had left out this part of the plan for me to decide, once we
had subdued all the soldiers and got them out of their uniforms. I guess I
should have killed them all then(we couldn't right away because we may get
blood stains on their uniforms), but I didn't. Instead, I had them tied up
and left alone in the fire station, just like the other soldier we had
interrogated a few days ago.
"Sorry," I said again.
"I'm not accusing you or anything," Jon said, a little
annoyed. "Anyway, get some sleep, Tony. I heard that you have trouble
sleeping whenever you have a reason to worry." Jon took me by my arm and
guided me to the bedroom. "Good night," he wished and shut the door so that
I was alone.
* * *
Purple. Or was it violet? Doesn't matter, because it's
beautiful. The deep violet ocean was visible from here. It reflected the
starry skies like a translucent canvas for a star-bed. Too bad the moon was
on the other side. It would've been breathtaking. I watched, and watched,
until the stars faded and sun rose.
When I opened my eyes, the gloomy apartment bedroom was back, and
the beautiful dream had ended. I let out a long sigh before stepping out of
my bed and leaving the room. It was only seven o'clock in the night, I
noted when I saw the wall-clock next to the kitchen. Only a few of us were
awake: Jon in the kitchen, Simon and Irene in the livingroom, sipping their
coffees peacefully. Neither of them looked nervous, strangely. Seeing that
Jon was alone, I joined him.
"Feeling better?" Jon asked when he saw me approaching.
"Heaps. Thanks," I replied and took a seat opposite him.
"Sorry 'bout yesterday. I think you did the right thing, leaving
them like that."
"How so?"
"One point you already stated, is that we only needed the disguise
for one day. The other is, I don't think it's right to let go of our
humanity for the sake of... ourselves." Jon looked up at me and
smiled. "Thanks for making the right choices for us."
"And thanks for setting me straight," I returned his smile. "By the
way, why are you always in the kitchen?"
"It's..."
"Guys?" Jean suddenly interrupted us from the hallway. She was
already in her soldier disguise. "Give me a hand and wake these guys up,
please?" she thumbed the bedrooms behind her.
"Now? It's only seven," I asked.
"Yes. We're going to do this early. Now go!"
Jon and I chuckled as we stood up from our chairs and walked
towards the bedrooms. While we were waking up the others, I found myself
thinking about Jon's reaction when I asked him about his kinship with
kitchens. He seemed... truly happy, as if I've never seen him happy in my
life. I felt a little worried. Was he ever 'truly' happy with us?
* * *